The market for mobile/wireless phone usage has rapidly expanded to reach over 1 billion subscribers throughout the world by the end of 2002. Over 60% of these subscribers prepay for mobile phone usage. The greatest growth of mobile phone subscribers occurs in economically underdeveloped and emerging economies, where it is also common to prepay for many other recurring services, such as utility bills, due to the lack of consumer credit infrastructure.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a prior art method 100 for prepaying for mobile phone services includes the following steps. First, a customer 110 pays a merchant 120 (111) and receives a scratch card 160 in return (112). Scratch card 160 includes a hidden authorization code 180 covered with a protective coating 170. Customer 110 removes the protective coating 170 using a coin or fingernail to reveal the hidden authorization code 180. Authorization code 180 is also referred to as a “hidden recharge number” (HRN) or a “voucher” or a “voucher number”. Next, customer 110 contacts a mobile operator 130 and provides the mobile operator 130 with the authorization code 180 through the mobile operator's call center or an interactive voice response system (113). Mobile operator 130 validates the authorization code 180, “recharges” or “tops up” customer's mobile account with the value associated with the authorization code 180, and notifies customer 110 upon completion of the top up transaction (114). The merchant 120 purchases scratch cards in bulk in multiple denominations for multiple mobile operators 130 from either a scratch card distributor 150 (115) or a wholesaler 140 (118). Typically wholesaler 140 purchases mobile airtime minutes in bulk in advance from several mobile operators 130 (117), manufactures the scratch cards 160 and sells the cards either directly to merchants 120 (118) or through a distributor 150 (116). Typically, merchants 120 are convenience stores, department stores or supermarkets that sell many other types of consumer merchandise. In one example, merchant 120 is a Sam's Club and scratch card 160 is an AT&T phone card. Although this is the most widely used method for topping up mobile phone accounts, the costs associated with scratch card manufacturing, distribution, inventory and potential fraud result in reduced profitability for the mobile operator 130. These costs could represent up to 30% of the face value of the scratch card 160. For example for a typical scratch card 160 with a face value amount of $100, the mobile operator only realizes about $70 in revenue due to the above mentioned costs associated with scratch cards.
Dedicated Point of Sale (POS) terminals and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are also used to provide a more cost effective way to top up mobile prepaid accounts by electronically generating and printing the voucher at the time of the purchase. Referring to FIG. 3, a prior art method 200 for topping up mobile prepaid accounts includes the following steps. First, customer 110 pays merchant 120 (211). Merchant 120 engages a Point of Sale (POS) Terminal 121 to connect over a telecommunication network 80 to a remote prepaid system 190 (210, 215). Merchant 120 generates a voucher number (not shown) and prints the voucher number onto a receipt 123 using a printer 122 that is in connection with the POS terminal 121. Next, merchant 120 provides the customer 110 with the voucher receipt 123 that contains the voucher number (not shown) (212). Next, customer 110 provides the mobile operator 130 with the voucher number printed on the voucher receipt 123 (213), the mobile operator 130 validates the voucher number and tops up the customer's mobile account with the value associated with the voucher number (214). Mobile operator 130 also notifies customer 110 upon completion of top up transaction (214). These electronic vouchers are created “online” one at a time by the POS terminal 121 by connecting to prepaid system 190 for each customer 110. Alternatively, the POS terminal 121 connects to the prepaid system 190 less frequently, downloads a batch of multiple vouchers that are securely stored within the memory of the POS terminal 121 and subsequently generates the electronic vouchers “offline” for each customer 110. The problem with this prior art method is the fact that there are not many POS or ATMs readily available to accommodate the number of transactions and users. Accordingly, there is a need for a low cost alternative for a mobile POS or ATM that can securely, store, generate, transfer and print electronic prepaid vouchers.